Ryan Selove is an acupuncturist and wellness practitioner whose path to Chinese medicine grew from fifteen years of deep personal immersion in Qi Gong, Tai Chi, and the healing arts of the East. That journey has its roots in his undergraduate studies at George Mason University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Integrative Studies with a concentration in Consciousness and Transformation, an academic foundation that reflects the same holistic worldview he brings to the treatment room today. He later deepened that perspective with a Master of Business Administration in Sustainable Innovation from the University of Vermont, cultivating a systems-level understanding of health, community, and lasting change. Guided by the conviction that physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being are inseparable, Ryan ultimately found in acupuncture a way to share those connections with others on a far greater scale.

That calling led him to the Virginia University of Integrative Medicine (VUIM) in Vienna, Virginia, where he undertook a rigorous four-year graduate program, earning his Master of Science in Acupuncture. His clinical training spanned the VUIM Student Clinic as well as the INOVA Peterson Life with Cancer Center in Fairfax, Virginia, where he treated patients, caregivers, and staff navigating serious illness. It was an experience that deepened his understanding of what it means to offer effective care with gentleness and presence.

During his training, Ryan spent nearly two years observing and assisting Dr. Hon Lee, a Chinese Medicine Doctor in Herndon, Virginia. Dr. Lee, himself a student of the legendary Dr. Richard Tan, practiced distal needling and the Balance Method of acupuncture. Working alongside him gave Ryan his first and most formative exposure to the Balance Method system, the same approach that sits at the heart of the work at Central Virginia Wellness Institute.

After graduating and passing the national acupuncture board examinations, Ryan earned his credentials as a Diplomate of Acupuncture and a Licensed Acupuncturist in the state of Virginia. He then began focused training in the Balance Method under the direct mentorship of Dr. Edward Vernon and joined Central Virginia Wellness Institute as an Associate Acupuncturist. He continues his studies as a part-time student in VUIM’s Doctor of Acupuncture program.

Beyond the clinic, Ryan is a teacher of Qigong and Tai Chi and a facilitator of Gong Fu Tea Ceremony, practices he regards as natural extensions of the same healing philosophy he brings to his acupuncture work. Before acupuncture, he served as a volunteer coordinator and public educator with Virginia State Parks and the National Park Service, roles that reflected his lifelong love of the natural world and his gift for building meaningful community. Outside of work, he can be found exploring local parks and trails, practicing Tai Chi and meditation, sharing tea, playing and listening to music, and spending time with family and friends.

Ryan Selove is an acupuncturist and wellness practitioner whose path to Chinese medicine grew fro... Read More

Dr. Eddie Vernon is a holistic healer and educator whose integrated approach to mind/body/spiritual wellness draws from his extensive background in modalities such as acupuncture, sound healing, breathwork, and Qi Gong. By combining these ancient healing disciplines with modern medical science and technology, he has developed a compassionate and comprehensive vision for promoting harmony and well-being in all aspects of life.

Following seven years of service as a U.S. Naval officer, Eddie embarked on a quest to learn about holistic health. He sought a way to stay healthy and recover from injuries and forge a holistic view of health that includes emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being. His search led him to one of the country’s first and most established Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine schools—the Pacific College of Health and Science in San Diego, California. There he spent four life-changing years deeply immersed in studying Traditional Chinese Medicine, including acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, nutritional therapy, Tai Chi, and Qi Gong. His education included internships in palliative care at San Diego Hospice, pain management at San Diego Children’s Hospital, and a post-graduate internship in China at Chengdu Teaching University Hospital. Following graduation with both Master of Science and Doctorate degrees, he continued to deepen his education with an apprenticeship with Dr. Richard Teh-Fu Tan, creator of the world-renowned Balance Method system of acupuncture. In his practice, Dr. Eddie observed that, as well as healing pain and illness, acupuncture treatments would often trigger transcendent experiences in his patients—meditative states, color visualizations, or out-of-body experiences, for instance. This led him to explore that all-important mind/body/spirit connection as it pertains to the healing arts. As a result, he has traveled to China, Taiwan, Ecuador, and Mexico, seeking out indigenous healers and traditional medicine methods. He has also studied Pranayama breath work as part of David Elliott’s Healer Training Levels 1–5 and was trained and certified in TRE (Trauma Releasing Exercises) by TRE’s founder, Dr. David Berceli. In locations around the world, Dr. Eddie has practiced his healing arts in settings as diverse as Royal Caribbean and Carnival cruise ships and Tripler Army Hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii. While working for the Army, he treated active-duty service members diagnosed with chronic pain, PTSD, and TBI, as part of the U.S. Army’s Interdisciplinary Pain Management program. Here he learned the most effective ways of helping patients overcome chronic pain, especially when accompanied by trauma. Since 2016, Dr. Eddie has helmed Central Virginia Wellness Institute, a center for health and wellness in his hometown of Spotsylvania, Virginia. In addition, he continues to travel to Asia and South America in his work as a healer, lecturer, and self-described lifelong student of the healing arts.

Dr. Eddie Vernon is a holistic healer and educator whose integrated approach to mind/body/spiritu... Read More